-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A time capsule hidden for more than a hundred years at one of Boston 's most popular tourist attractions was opened on Friday in Boston .

According to the Bostonian Society , which maintains the 1713-built Old Massachusetts State House , the rectangular copper box containing a variety of artifacts from 1901 was sealed inside one of two iconic statues -- a lion and a unicorn -- that have been a familiar site atop the Old State House for a couple of centuries .

The Bostonian Society did n't -- or could n't -- fully divulge the 113-year-old time capsule 's contents , explaining that `` the process of extracting documents that are old and probably fragile will need to be slow and careful . '' But a Boston Globe article from February 24 , 1901 , detailed what went into the box , which the story predicted would `` prove interesting when the box is opened many years hence . ''

According to the Globe , the box included the photographs and autographs of local statesmen such as Massachusetts Gov. Winthrop M. Crane and Boston Mayor Thomas Norton Hart , as well as news clippings of the day from several city newspapers and even a `` letter to posterity from the reporters of the Boston Daily newspapers assigned to City Hall . ''

It also included a photograph of the `` 5th Massachusetts Regiment on its way to Framingham to be mustered in as U.S. volunteers for service in the war against Spain , '' as well as `` campaign buttons for McKinley , Roosevelt and John D. Long for vice president . ''

The box was sealed inside the lion 's head by Samuel Rogers , a local coppersmith who was part of the crew renovating the nearly 200-year-old State House . Although the occasion was detailed in the city 's largest newspaper , the Bostonian Society said its current staff was unaware of the time capsule until they received a letter from a descendent of Rogers alerting them to it .

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Time capsule hidden since 1901 in Boston is discovered

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It holds photographs , campaign buttons and news clippings

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The copper box is found in a statue atop the State House